Milestone Moments: 2012 - Euphoric excitement in the East

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Paul Jordan

Posted 29 September, 2016, 17:00

In 2012 the Eurovision Song Contest travelled to Azerbaijan's capital Baku, the most eastern Eurovision host city to date. The venue for the competition, the Crystal Hall, was built especially for the contest in just under eight months. Singer Loreen scored Sweden's fifth victory in the competition, despite some strong competition from a group of Russian grannies who wanted to host a party for everybody!

Baku provided a spectacular setting for the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in what became one of the most politically-charged contests in the history of the competition. Azerbaijan won the right to host the event after El & Nikki won the contest in Düsseldorf with the song Running Scared. 42 countries took to the stage including some of the oldest performers ever seen in the Eurovision Song Contest. The United Kingdom sent its oldest ever participant, 76 year old Engelbert Humperdinck, whilst Russia was represented by the Buranovskiye Babushki who had a combined age of more than 500!

Following the final of Melodifestivalen, Sweden's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Loreen's song Euphoria, became an immediate favourite to win in Baku and from the beginning of the voting it was clear that Sweden was on the road to victory. Euphoria went on to be a worldwide hit and reached number one in several countries selling more than two million copies.